Battery-terminal fastening



A. F. HAWKINS.

BATTERY TERMINAL FASTENING.

APPLICATION mu) APR. 5, 1920.

1,349,957 Patented Aug. 17, 1920.

gnueuhoc derside of the gasket.

UNITED STATES PATENT orncs.

BATTERY-TERMINAL FASTENING.

lpeemcation of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 5, 19%. I611 Io. 871.,8.

To all whom it ma concern.-

Be it known t at I, ALDA F. HAWKINS, citizen of the United States,residing at Fort Worth, in the county of Tarrant and State of Texas,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Battery-TerminalFastenings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in batteryterminal fastenin It his been customary to fasten the rubber caps ortops on the cells of storage batteries in various ways. It is necessaryto make the terminal post of a soft metal such as lead alloy and it isobvious that any kind of a screw-threaded arrangement is more or lessunsatisfactory because the threads are inclined surfaces that will soonwear owin to the softness of the metal. The idea involved in thisinvention is to provide a simple and eflicient fastening which will befree from the foregoin objections and which may be quickly app ied andused at a low cost.

In carrying out the invention the terminal post is provided with anangular shoulder and a resilient or elastic ring is passed down the postand engaged under the shoulder so as to bear on the top of the cap,thereby holding the cap firmly on the post as will be obvious.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of thefollowing specification and by reference to the accompan ing drawings,in which an example of t e invention is shown, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ortion of a storage battery cellshowing t e cap fastened on the terminal post in accordance with thisinvention,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, and

Fi 3 is a lon itudinal sectional view on the line 33 of ig. 2.

In the drawin s the numeral 10 designates the hard ru ber cap of thecell of an ordinary stora e battery which is constructed in the usuamanner. The ca has a vertical opening 11 for receiving t e terminal 0st12 of the usual terminal plate 13, which atter is secured to the batteryplates 14, in the usual manner. The cap 10 has a seat 15 in itsundersurface surrounding the opening 11 and a packing gasket 16 isreceived in this seat, and the plates 13 contact with the un- Thisprevents the solution from pissing out through the openng 11 as Wlllobvious, of course, providing that the parts are in close contact.

he terminal post 12 is provided with a circumferentlal groove or recess17 and an annular shoulder 18 which overhangs the goo ve and ispositioned slightly above the top of the cap 10. The remainder of thepost above the shoulder is finished in the usual way. In order to fastenthe cap in position a ring 19 of rubber or other elastic material isforced down over the shoulder 18 so as to engage into the groove underthe shoulder and bear on the top surface of the cap.

The groove being concaved the tendency of the ring is to work in underthe shoulder and thus force the cap downward whereby the gasket 16contacts with the plates 13 and the cap is firmly fastened on theterminal. The ring may be made of rubber or other suitable material. Itis preferable to use material which will be elastic and which will havea high degree of acid reslstance. It will be noticed that the groove 18cons1derably wider than the diameter of the rm and extends below the topof the cap, an thus the ring tends to embrace the post and fit snuglyunder the shoulder and can not be easi y displaced. In fact the P111Wlll tend to crowd under the shoulder an around the upper edge of theopening 11, there being a space between the upper edge of the opening 11and the bottom of the groove 17 so that the ring will tend to work intothis space and thus securely hold the arts together.

en it is desired to take ofi the cap it is merely necessary to pry thering loose and remove it. The fastening is so sim 1e and inexpensivethat a new rin ma s used each time the cap, is re lace alt ough the samering could e use in many instances. The invention is not to be limitedto an elastic rin and its scope is pointed out in the following claims.

What I claim, is:

1. In a battery terminal fastening, the combination with a cell caphavin an opening, of a terminal post extendin t rough the opening andhaving a stop efiament at its lower end to engage beneath the ca saidpost extending outwardly beyond t e cap and provided with a radiallpro'ecting flange spaced from the cap, sai post avin an annular recessbeneath the flange, whi

Patented Aug. 1'7, 1920.

recess increases in radial dimension toward the cap providing a ta redportion upon the post decreasing in water toward the cap, and acircumferential] contractible ring adapted to be positione between theflange and cap and to contact with said tapered ing the rm to movetoward the cap.

2. In a attery terminal fastening, the

combination with a cell cap having an opening, of a terminal postextendin rough the opening and having a stop 0 ement at its lower end toengage beneath the cafi, said post extending outwardly beond te cap andprovided with a radial g pro'ecting flange spaced from the cap, sai postaving a tapered portion beneath the flange whic decreases in diametertoward the cap, and a circumferentially contractible element arran dbetween the flange and cap and contactmg with the tapered portion to bemoved thereby toward the cap.

3. In a battery terminal fastening, the combination with a cell caphavin an opening, of a terminal post extendi rough the opening andhaving a stop e ement at its lower end to engage beneath the ca saidextending outwardly be 0nd t e cap and provided with a radial pro'ectingflange s aced from the cap, sai post aving an annu ar recess beneath theflange, said recess being curved in cross section and having its upperportion increasin in radial dimension toward the cap, an an elastic ringarranged between the flange and cap in contact with the curved wall ofsaid recase, said ring being circular in cross section.

4. In a battery terminal fastening, the

rtion, said tapered portion causcombination with a cell cap having anopening, of a terminal post extending through the opening and having astop element arranged beneath the cap said post extending above the cap,a packing arranged between the stop element and cap, a radiallyextending flange carried by the termin post near the upper surface ofthe cap, an a highl elastic circumferentially eigpansible ancontractible ring adapted'to be moved into engagement beneath the flangefor sealing the opening in the cell cap.

5. In a battery terminal fastening, the combination with a cell.caphavin an opening,- of a terminal post extending t rough the opening andhaving a stop element arrangeg beneath the cap, said post being proviabove the cap, and provided near theupper face of the cap wit surroundinoove, and a highly elastic circumferentia y expansible and oontractiblering adapted to be moved into the groove in engagement with said cap.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ALDA F. HAWKINS.

